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Researchers Close in on Technology for Making Renewable Petroleum (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110323135635.htm)

QuoteScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2011) â€" University of Minnesota researchers are a key step closer to making renewable petroleum fuels using bacteria, sunlight and carbon dioxide.

Graduate student Janice Frias, who earned her doctorate in January, made the critical step by figuring out how to use a protein to transform fatty acids produced by the bacteria into ketones, which can be cracked to make hydrocarbon fuels. The university is filing patents on the process.

Can you imagine what the patent on this process would be worth? It would be astronomically valuable!

Cool...then they can quit trying to use food to fuel cars and send it to starving people instead

Quote from: "Whitney"Cool...then they can quit trying to use food to fuel cars and send it to starving people instead

Yep! This isn't the only example of research in this area as the rewards are virtually unimaginable. Not the least of which would be the ability to largely tell the Saudis where they can shove their money. There is a downside though. Oil can be found in many countries but a patent exists in one place. Imagine what would happen if the Chinese get their first or simply choose to ignore the patent? Whoever gets the patent has got to be bloody careful that they don't try to charge exorbitant licensing fees for the rights to utilise the micro-organisms otherwise people simply won't pay.

Quote from: "Whitney"Cool...then they can quit trying to use food to fuel cars and send it to starving people instead

Indeed